Which Backup Exec to Buy for Dedicated Server?

[Jon_Wu]

Hi - I am new to backing up data so I am looking for some advice. I have a dedicated server with running Windows 2003 Server that is hosted with a webhosting company. I would like to back it up and be able to

1) do a system restore in case it fails. (server burns up, disk fails, disaster happens)
2) replicate the server onto another machine so that I can load balance it.

My question is:

1) Will Backup Exec install/work for a dedicated server that is located remotely?

My server is located at GoDaddy so I don't have physical access to the machine. I have full Windows 2003 Server privileges so I can access it remotely using Remote Desktop. Will I be able to install Backup Exec on it remotely? That is, not being in front of the machine?

When I back up my data, I want to be able to store it on another machine - on a computer at home. If I install Backup Exec on my dedicated server, will it be able to transfer the data off the dedicated server to my machine at home? Or does the backup disk have to be attached?

2) Which version of Backup Exec should I buy?

I see there is BackupExec for Windows Servers and BackupExec System Recovery Server Edition. I am new to this. What is the difference between these 2 systems? Why are they named differently?

3) Can I use Backup Exec to replicate my dedicated server continuously onto another machine?

Basically I want to duplicate my dedicated server. The traffic on it is getting heavy.

Thanks for your responses in advance! This is my first time trying to learn about Backup Exec so I'm trying to get the hang of things.

[ray_littlefie1]

Good Questions.

Its important to understand that products either replicate data & services (for high availability) or backup data (for data protection/disaster recovery). No one product can do both equally well.

Backup Exec System Recovery and Backup Exec for Windows Servers are both backup products (BEWS has a continuous data protection feature but it is not replication). With either product you must go through a restore process to recover your system and the process is not automatic. BE System Recovery is the superior product for speed , and reliability of performing a complete recovery. It works at the disk sector level quickly capturing a snapshot of the disk to a file. BEWS (a file-level backup product)is a great product if you have lots of servers and lots of data, and bare-metal recovery is not a realistic requirement.

BESR will not work across a WAN connection. It needs a local disk or file share to store the backup image.Even if you have a VPN to your home, because of the likely slow transfer speed the image consistency would be in question. Theoretically, you could make a back up image to the GoDaddy server local disk using BESR and then copy the files (called recovery points) to your computer at home. It would take a while- and then how are you going to recover if the GoDaddy server is down?

Both products BEWS & BESR can be installed remotely and will require reboot. Both products offer free trial periods.

There are replication products (xosoft and neverfail to drop a few names) that can replicate services from one location to another. However you must have two (nearly) identical servers to perfrom this.

You might want to read up on network load balancing or clustering where two or more servers can be placed under a common namespace and can load balance and tolerate failure of a single server. You should talk to your provider GoDaddy and see what they offer as well.

[Systems_Admin6]

Exactly. When you use a service like GoDaddy to remotely host a server, you usually make use of their backup and replication services. You probably pay for the privilege, but this balances having to pay for everything up front yourself.